BUSİNESS MANAGEMENT

Leadership is a blend of factors shaped by the environmental impact. Goals are guides for leaders and their followers which govern the leadership process. Personality and values shape a person’s leadership skills.
The latter become most influential when charismatic individuals emerge in times of crisis—whether generated from external threats—such as economic crises, changes in the political environment, or internal threats
such as upending reorganizational change, succession, and new partnering caused by mergers and acquisitions, etc. Finally, the acceptance of followers and/or encouragement is where leaders draw most of their power.

Differing characteristics of leaders and managers are as follows:

Leader

Manager

Tool is her/his power

Tool is her/his legal authority

Does what is essential

Does things right

Creates new targets

Does the planned and required

Seeks followers’ involvement

Complies with rules and regulations

Elected, accepted, and informal

Assigned, formal, and impersonal

Leads teams

Manages hierarchy

Invisible in the formal structure

Visible in the organization chart

Based on interviews with managers and employees, this group of studies identified two basic forms of leadership behaviors: task/production oriented behaviors and people/employee oriented behaviors.7 Task-oriented behaviors indicate a focus on production and technical aspects of a job. Managers who were task-oriented were concerned about issues such as keeping low costs and scheduling meetings. People-oriented behaviors indicate a supportive approach to subordinates. Managers with this type of orientation dealt with high performance goals and human needs. Today, we must emphasize that the success and effectiveness of different behaviors depend on the necessity of the circumstances which is influenced by constant change.

Contingency models of leadership focus on the match between environmental factors and leader’s behaviors. Some of the factors examined are organizational goals, leader- employee relations, task structure, and position power.

Situational leadership emphasizes that leaders match their approach according to the degree that subordinates are ready for the task. In other words, characteristics of people which impact the leadership behaviors. Hence, the model introduces two basic parts: leadership styles and the development level of employees.  Main leadership styles are identified in groups such as: supportive (relationship oriented) and directive (task oriented).

These are all contemporary leadership models. The concept of leadership has been subject to change in organizational settings. The emerging dimensions of technology, communication, human relations, and social interaction force new leader figures and new ways of leading people. Consequently, some leadership styles that are recently introduced are charismatic/visionary leadership, leader-member exchange theory, transformational and transactional leadership servant leadership, team leadership, and authentic leadership.

contemporary leadership approach has its own details, one common feature of different contemporary leadership styles is the increasing importance of human asset, thus inclusiveness and communication.

LMX suggests that leaders create in-groups and out- groups that they decide at the beginning of their relationship with their subordinates or followers.15The leader then trusts the in-group members more than the others, consults and works closely with them, brings them to certain authority and responsibility positions, and also may reward them more in the form of their appraisals and promotions. In-groups can be formal or informal. In other words, they can take place in organizational charts or not.

Transformational leaders differ from others by their charisma and the ability to inspire radical change. Transformational leadership is more than charismatic leadership which is “inspiring and motivating people beyond what they would normally do”. Charismatic leadership is inspiring and motivating people beyond what they would normally do.

A transformational leader articulates a vision, transforms the thinking of individuals, brings out their creativity, engages in the organizational atmosphere, and empower followers to accomplish goals, and moreoever reach their full potential.

Diversity is acknowledging and understanding of differences: gender, age, background, cultural values, physical condition, nationality, religion, race, sexual orientation, language,
skills, and personality. The term is defined in various sources from different perspectives. The Business Dictionary refers to diversity as “Feature of a mixed workforce that
provides a wide range of abilities, experience, knowledge, and strengths due to its heterogeneity in age, background, ethnicity, physical abilities, political and religious beliefs, sex, and other attributes”.

A diversified work place is a blend of multi-characteristics possessed by the members of a business organization. Hence,a diversified work place is: multi-generational; composed ofa variety of backgrounds, cultures, languages, and ideologiesas well as religions; covers different ethnic groups; minorities, underrepresented and disadvantaged groups; and finallydiversified gender groups.

Leadership is a blend of factors shaped by the environmental impact. Components of Leadership are as follows:

As also understood from the information given, the answer is E.

Let’s remember the definition for management: “Achieving goals through planning, organizing, leading, motivating, and controlling”. These processes have similarities but they are also much apart from one another.

Management and leadership are similar in terms of:

The management and leadership roles, which are critical dimensions of the world of business, have distinguishing characteristics:

As also understood from the information given, the answer is E. All of the statements related to the management and leadership in the options are correct.

A manager uses legal authority for attaining goals, whereas a leader possesses power, ability to lead, for accomplishing organizational goals through followers’ needs and expectations. Leaders and managers may have different personalities in an organization. Some tend to possess characteristics close to that of a manager. Some stand as a sole leader. As managerial and leadership atttitudes and skills converge, same person is a manager and a leader which we see as an ideal situation. Managerial orientation for leader, manager, and leader manager is as follows:

Managerial Orientation for Leader, Manager, and Leader Manager

Leader

Manager

Leader Manager

Tool is her/his power

Tool is her/his legal authority

Leading skills outperform positional authority

Does what is essential

Does things right

Generates and coaches the achievement process

Creates new targets

Does the planned and required

Inspires and enpowers to get things accomplished

Seeks followers’ involvement

Complies with rules and regulations

Primary concern is the subordinates’ acceptance and involvement

Elected, accepted, and informal

Assigned, formal, and impersonal

Elected or assigned

Leads teams

Manages hierarchy

Uses leading skills first

Invisible in the formal structure

Visible in the organization chart

Formally positioned also perceived as a leader

As also understood from the table given, the answer is E.

TRADITIONAL APPROACHES TO LEADERSHIP

It is not difficult to argue that first leaders emerged when people started living in groups. However, we prefer to focus on scientific studies that examine the leadership process in organizational as well as formal settings. Thus, early leadership studies point out to traits and behaviors of leaders.

Early research on leader traits introduced characterisctics possessed by powerful leaders, which is called Great Man theory. Traits approach focused on identifying innate qualities and characteristics possessed by great social, political, and military leaders in history. The logic is to analyze what such leaders did to achieve highly challenging, at times impossible tasks. Atatürk, Lincoln, Napoleon, and Gandhi are examples of such traits.

Leadership traits, as mentioned above, are sought for distingusihing leaders from non-leaders. However, as circumstances changed especially for business, leadership traits were developed and enhanced. It has been acknowledged that not one person can possess all positive traits. It has become more complicated to determine one set of traits for successfuly leading in all types of envrironments.

A focus solely on traits was not sufficient for separating leaders from others. Neither was it for analyzing the leadership process. This led to searching for the behavorial side of leadership characteristics

As also understood from the information given, the answer is C. “Task-oriented behaviors” and “People-oriented behaviors” were identified by The Michigan Studies.

The results of this group of research were akin to Michigan studies. The researchers from Ohio State University introduced two basic leader behaviors or styles: initiating structure behavior and consideration behavior. Initiating structure is parallel to the task oriented behavior and shows the emphasis on formal processes such as designing roles and responsibilities. Consideration behavior is a form of people orientation and indicates the extent of concern for the relationships with subordinates and their feelings.

As also understood from the information given, the answer is E. All of the statements related to The Ohio State studies in the options are correct.

The managerial grid is a useful tool for managers to observe which category in the grid their leadership style fits. It is also a model that can be used during training programs for organizational development. This approach has been criticized for simplifying the behaviorial styles to only two dimensions. Also, the factors that shape the leadership behaviors are not solidly considered. As also understood from the information given, the answer is E. All of the statements related to the managerial grid in the options are correct.

Fiedler’s Contingency Model: This model examines the match between the leadership style and the situation. The difference from the situational model is that Fiedler’s model adds organizational aspects to the situational variables. The focus of the Fiedler’s contingency model is to detect the leadership style and the situation correctly, so the most effective match can be decided. If this match is the right one then the group is most likely to be successful; if the match is not appropriate the group performance will be relatively low. Let’s examine how the leadership style and the situation is detected.

Leadership styles in Fiedler’s contingency model are people (relationship) oriented and task oriented styles, similar to the situational model. What is different is that Fiedler suggests that leadership styles are pretty much fixed. Therefore, the leader matches her/his style with the situation that is most suitable for her/his effectiveness. Fiedler’s model includes the Least Prefered Co-Worker (LPC) scale for measuring leader styles. If a leader scores someone s/he least prefers high, it means that s/he is willing to develop good relationships and it is considered a relationship oriented style. If this score is low, it means the leader pays more attention on achieving the task and it is considered a task oriented style. According to Fiedler’s contingency model: leaders with high LPC are people oriented; leaders with low LPC are task oriented.

As also understood from the information given, the answer is E. All of the statements related to Fiedler’s contingency model in the options are correct.

After the leadership style is determined as whether people or task oriented, the stuation must be examined. By this token, the situational variables of Fiedler’s contingency model are: the quality of leader-member relations; the degree of task structure, and the position power.

The combination of the variables above shows the favorability of the leadership situation. A situation is considered highly favorable if: the leader-member relations are based on trust and respect; the task structure is highly structured; and the leader has strong power over her/his subordinates. On the other hand, a situation is mentioned as highly unfavorable if: the leadermember relations are poor; the task and roles are not clearly defined and standardized; and the leader has little authority for directing subordinates and issuing orders.

As also undersood from the information given, the answer is C. “Quality of leader-member relations”, “Task structure” and “Position power” are the situational variables of Fiedler’s contingency model. “Inspirational motivation” and “Individualized consideration” are related to transformational leadership. Transformational leadership is explained in four I’s: charisma or idealized influence; inspirational motivation; intellectual stimulation; and individualized consideration.

Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX)

Take a moment to think about your direct or indirect experiences in any organization or a work place. Do you observe leaders, managers, or administrators being in close work relations with some but not as much with others, and even almost ignoring a number of people? Do you happen to be one of your manager’s favorite co-workers or have you ever or any of your peers felt left out?

The answers to the questions above describes leader-member exchange theory (LMX). LMX suggests that leaders create in-groups and outgroups that they decide at the beginning of their relationship with their subordinates or followers. The leader then trusts the in-group members more than the others, consults and works closely with them, brings them to certain authority and responsibility positions, and also may reward them more in the form of their appraisals and promotions. In-groups can be formal or informal. In other words, they can take place in organizational charts or not. Business partners, top administration teams, heads of departments, board of directors, different committee members, or invisible in-group members are examples of LMX types of structures depending on the type and size of the enterprise, whether a business company or an informal social organization. As also understood from the information given, the answer is E.

Transformational leadership is discussed compared to transactional leadership for a better analysis. Transactional leadership is employed where the accomplishment of organizational goals is the primary focus and the leader is fixed on the results. We may as well mention that transactional leaders are devoted managers who aim to accomplish organizational goals in an efficient way. Transactional leaders also attach importance to issues such as communication, developing human resources, and motivation. A division manager, a CEO, a rector, or a supervisor may perform as transactional managers.

Transformational and transactional leadership are different in the ways they approach motivating individuals or employees. For the transactional leader the motive is the achievement of the organizational goals; for the transformational leader it is getting the individuals to reach their fullest potential through inspiration and individual consideration.

As also understood from the information given, the answer is E. All of the statements related to transformational leadership and transactional leadership in the options are correct?